Luisa has fallen madly in love with sculptor Jarvis, so she comes up with a plan to find a new wife for her husband Luke so she can exit stage left. She wants to screen potential stepmothers for her 8-year-old son Max and has strict criteria: the woman must be a single mother; have no more than two children; she can't be authoritarian; she must be creative, nurturing and not much prettier than Luisa.
After a few carefully orchestrated meetings with different women that fail to raise a spark, Luke finally connects with a potential replacement wife. However, Luisa isn't prepared for the fact that Luke's interest in the other woman makes him a better man and a more attractive husband. After suffering for years in a half-dead marriage, Luisa starts to remember what it was about Luke that she originally fell in love with. But is it too late?
Hey! Here's my review.
A quirky story about Luisa, who is bored in her marriage and wants to get out, but doesn't want to appear to be the bad guy. She engages in an online emotional affair, but doesn't want to take the next step until she can manipulate her husband into falling in love with a suitable replacement wife and stepmother for her son. The story plays out like a cautionary tale, with so many moments when I wanted to slap some sense into Luisa, and by the end I just wanted to say "I told you so". It was a quick, easy read, and I enjoyed watching the mess unfold. She does grow and learn from her mistakes throughout the book though, and there were moments that made me giggle, such as when she screened out a potential replacement wife on the grounds that she had a thermomix - run from the thermomix!
★★★★
- Where: NetGalley
- Format: ebook
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